Christmas Week

For the past few months I've been longing for Christmas week to arrive and to be at home, with Ibolya and Ruby, without having much to do or far to go and I'm very happy I succeeded in my aim. It's been an utterly blissful week. Ruby's woken up about 6.00 and then gone back to sleep until about 8.30, which is an unheard of pleasure for Ibolya and I.
This is a quick run down of what we did in between Christmas and New Year.

Boxing Day: after the Bennetts and my Mum and Dad left, we tidied up the house, played with Ruby's fantastic new Lego set and ate lots of left overs and the magnificent pork pie my Mum left for us

27th December: Stephen, Christophe and Stephen's Mum Liz came over for lunch and brought Ruby's Christmas present over, the complete set of Beatrix Potter books.

Ibolya bought these spooky dolls some time ago and I've been meaning to take a picture of them for ages

28th December: we went to check out the sales at Westfield. We bought Ruby some new clothes at Palarno thingy. We bumped into my sister and her family and Ruby got very upset as she needed a sleep but we didn't have with us the bunny she relies on to sleep.

That night, I went to Holly and Dan's, over the road, for a sumputous dinner party.

29th December: we stayed in all day and watched BBC4's Christmas present to me, Lesley Magarhy's seminal Arena interview with Orson Welles, followed by Simon Callow's brilliant documentary about Welles in Europe. The best Christmas TV I could have wished for

30th December: we went for lunch at Jess and Adam's new house in Long Ditton (near Surbiton). Also there were Jerry and Samia and Justine and Jeff. Ruby loved meeting Poppy the cat.

31st December, New Year's Eve: Kate and Dan came round in the morning. Maisie is doing small walks now so they helped Ruby practise some steps. Early evening we went round to there's to see the New Year. Kate made beef wellington and made roast potatoes and bread and butter pudding.